Slop and translations

AI has recently been used on this blog just to improve the graphic design: I’ve asked for help on several occasions to fine-tune aesthetic details that would otherwise have taken me forever. But never when it comes to the content. And that will never happen because, since this is a personal blog, writing using soggy stuff generated by an unconsciously system would be really stupid.

But my English sucks. And writing in English wastes my time. And I don’t think in English – if only! So I write my content in Italian first and then translate it.

I’ve noticed that, as the months go by, some of the systems I use to translate this idle chatter are increasingly relying on algorithms that, thinking of themselves as generative, add a touch of creativity to my texts. And my work of reconstructing the original meaning is sometimes turning into an epic undertaking.

These days I use DeepL and Google Translate: I use the first one to translate and the second one to correct. ¹ But more and more often, I find myself having to rework sentences that weren’t mine to begin with and that have been mistranslated.

And so, here’s my dilemma: does my content come across as truly my own, or—even though the words are my own—am I ultimately writing a blog as if an AI were writing it?